tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79415301067639450402017-07-10T06:42:16.751-07:00Product ReviewsGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-85640006721132005652016-11-11T18:47:00.001-08:002016-11-11T18:47:21.131-08:00New York Philharmonic/Kaija Saariaho review staking out new terrainGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-64846381811341130122016-11-11T15:52:00.001-08:002016-11-11T15:52:07.956-08:00Review: Olympus PEN-FGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-55636402496780748642016-11-11T12:47:00.001-08:002016-11-11T12:47:09.232-08:00Belgium Puts Corporate Tax Rate Under Review as Conflict Lingers<p>Belgiums government averted a political crisis by relegating plans to cut the tax rate on corporate profits and calls for a capital gains levy to further review as the conflict threatened to derail a last-minute budget deal.</p><p>You cant let things like this depend on the outcome of a deal struck in early hours, said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Flemish public broadcaster VRT. Thats why we decided to give ourselves more time and take a closer look at the impact on corporate financing and job creation.</p><p>Prime Minister Charles Michel canceled an appointment last Tuesday to present the 2017 budget and measures to accomodate private-sector job creation in parliament in Brussels. Talks between the four coalition parties had stalled over Flemish Christian Democrats demands for the introduction of a capital gains tax on stock investments. De Croo spoke as he left Michels office shortly before midnight. Under European Union rules, Belgium must submit its draft budget by Oct. 15.</p><p>Michel will give details about the 2017 budget at a briefing shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday. According to De Croo, the political agreement amounts to a 3 billion-euro ($3.3 billion) effort, keeping the governments target of a structurally balanced budget in 2018 within reach.</p><p>Read more: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-14/belgium-puts-corporate-tax-rate-under-review-as-conflict-lingers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-14/belgium-puts-corporate-tax-rate-under-review-as-conflict-lingers</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/belgium-puts-corporate-tax-rate-under-review-as-conflict-lingers/">Belgium Puts Corporate Tax Rate Under Review as Conflict Lingers</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/belgium-puts-corporate-tax-rate-under-review-as-conflict-lingers/">http://www.saferreviews.com/belgium-puts-corporate-tax-rate-under-review-as-conflict-lingers/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/153050838032">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/153050838032</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-80663772586883245662016-11-11T09:52:00.001-08:002016-11-11T09:52:06.838-08:00Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk review Ang Lee war drama is a misfiring follyGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-5929251728296413982016-11-11T03:27:00.001-08:002016-11-11T03:27:07.370-08:00Review: Google Daydream ViewGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-30014799450738395342016-11-11T00:02:00.001-08:002016-11-11T00:02:42.640-08:00Review: Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base<p>For years, consumer hardware has increasingly differentiated with design. And while Microsoft’s latest Surface Book hybrid features the premium materials, sleek looks, and lighter and thinner body you’d expect, it’s all about incredible engineering at its core.</p><p>This is the second version of the unique detachable device Microsoft <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/10/microsofts-surface-book-will-redefine-pcs-made/" target="_blank">first released a year ago</a>, and outwardly the mechanics are largely the same. When the Surface Book’s 13.5-inch touchscreen docks in its mechanical-and-magnetic grip, it’s a powerful laptop with a comfortably spaced keyboard.</p><div id="wired-tired" class="special-carve" col="" sm-col-18="" med-col-9="" big-col-9="" fader="" proxima="" gray-5="" relative="" data-share="" data-js="fader"><div id="wired-tired-logo"><span class="byline" absolute="">recommends 2016</span></div><div id="wired-tired-text" class="pad-t-med"><h2 class="tungsten" no-marg="">Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base</h2><h3 class="tungsten" gray-5="" no-marg="">8/10</h3><div class="border-box" border-t="" hide-mob="" hide-sm="" hide-med=""><a class="byline" gray-5="" no-underline="" no-hover="" href="#" data-ui="howRateOpen">Learn How We Rate</a></div><h5 class="brandon" uppercase="" border-t="">Wired</h5><p class="gray-5">It’s a lean performance hybrid with an awesome keyboard. The sharp touchscreen has a sweet aspect ratio for hard-core doc-jockeying. Laptop mode offers the graphics performance of a decent gaming laptop. It does hybrid right.</p><h5 class="brandon" uppercase="" border-t="">Tired</h5><p class="gray-5">Battery life is solid, but falls short of the 16 hours claimed. Sometimes you will forget where the power button is. It’s expensive, but you’re essentially getting two computers in one.</p><div class="border-box" border-t="" border-b="" gray-5=""><a class="byline" float-l="" no-underline="" no-hover="" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Surface-Book-with-Performance-Base/productID.5074012200" target="_blank">Buy It Now</a> <span class="byline" gray-5="">&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Microsoft</span></div></div><div id="how-rate" class="hide" hide-mob="" hide-sm="" hide-med="" bg-white="" absolute="" bottom="" left="" right="" data-js="howWeRate"><a data-ui="howRateClose" class="float-r" no-underline="" no-hover="" marg-t-med=""></a><br /><h4 class="tungsten" clamp-6="" pad-t-med="" pad-b-med="" clearfix="">How We Rate</h4><div class="border-box" border-t="" border-b="" pad-t-med="" pad-b-med=""><ul class="score-key" list-none="" no-marg=""><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">1/10</span>A complete failure in every way</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">2/10</span>Sad, really</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">3/10</span>Serious flaws; proceed with caution</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">4/10</span>Downsides outweigh upsides</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">5/10</span>Recommended with reservations</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">6/10</span>Solid with some issues</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">7/10</span>Very good, but not quite great</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">8/10</span>Excellent, with room to kvetch</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">9/10</span>Nearly flawless</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">10/10</span>Metaphysical perfection</li></ul></div></div></div><p>But then you hold down a button for a second, hear an electromechanical thunk, and lift the display right off. Thats the muscle wire lock working as designed, a special mechanism that keeps the screen on tight in laptop mode, and lets it loose when you want a big-screened tablet PC instead—complete with its own three-hour battery and mobile processor. When it comes time to re-dock, go ahead and put the screen on backwards; the system still works and sips from the main battery, giving you a gently sloped surface to write on with the included Surface Pen stylus.</p><p>All of which makes Surface Book a unique entry in the portable PC field, even a year later. And while this year’s model—the Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base—doesn’t reinvent the hinge, it does offer a dual-core Intel Core i7 CPU, up to 16 gigs of RAM, and dedicated graphics processors for more gaming and graphics <em>oomph</em>. Not that you can tell from the outside; the new machine looks just like last years Surface Book.</p><p>The new model sticks with the same a 13.5-inch, 3000 x 2000 touchscreen display, and its 3:2 aspect ratio leaves ample vertical real estate for rockin’ Word docs. It has same signature bendy-straw hinge as its predecessor, the same surprisingly good speakers, the same contoured magnesium-alloy body with chiseled details, and the same MacBook-silver coloration.</p><p>There are differences, though, all of them hidden inside. As a result, the newer Surface Book is a little bit heavier, weighing in at around 3.7 pounds versus the previous model’s 3.5-pound frame. Those extra ounces are no big deal, as it remains a fairly light load in your laptop bag.</p><h3>Interior Upgrades</h3><p>The most notable change is an upgraded graphics processing unit, which makes the Surface Book with Performance Base more attractive for gamers, video editors, or CAD whizzes who found last years internals too wimpy. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M GPU tucked inside now is an upgrade from the Nvidia 940M-range GPU found in last year’s models, and theres also double the memory devoted to it (2GB of GDDR5 RAM).</p><p>The upgrade pays off; the 2016 Surface Book is super-powerful for such a slim, light, and versatile machine. For the majority of mixed-use cases during testing—streaming a bunch of video, writing this review, surfing the web, and listening to music—the Surface Book had no trouble multitasking without a hiccup. It really zips. Thats to be expected out of the top configuration I tested, a $3,300 rig with a top-shelf Core i7 with 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. Still, it lives up to very lofty performance expectations.</p><p>I ran it through 3DMarks Cloud Gate benchmark test for all-purpose laptops, and the Surface Pro with Performance Base churned out a score of 8,803, which was significantly better than most 2013 gaming laptops and any general-purpose portable PC. On the more intense Sky Diver test, it held its own as well, netting a 10,738 score that also put it above older gaming laptops and all-purpose portables. No, it’s not on par with newer gaming laptops—it wont handle Oculus VR, for example—but it’s especially impressive when you factor in its size, weight, and versatility.</p><p>One perk that the new Surface Book didn’t live up to was its listed 16 hours of battery life in laptop mode. I tested the laptop through three complete charge and recharge cycles, with normal heavy use, and it gave me between six and seven hours of juice at a time. Microsoft suggested downloading the latest Windows update, which did improve power management quite a bit, boosting me to around nine to 10 hours per charge. Another caveat: Microsoft’s battery life spec is based on video playback, not mixed use. The upshot is that you get solid mileage, but don’t expect to make from sunup to sundown with everyday use, unless you live in the Arctic.</p><p>Outside of the fresh new engine and bulked-up battery life, the experience of using the new Surface Book is exactly the same as using last years model. Thats largely a long list of pluses: I am a huge fan of its keyboard, which has wider keys, better ergonomics for bigger hands, and more pleasant key travel than the 13-inch MacBook Pro I normally use. The input options are decent, with two USB 3.0 ports and an SD reader along its left edge, and a mini DisplayPort jack on the right edge.</p><p>The Surface Books detached-screen experience is best described as tablet PC rather than tablet. When its freed from its dock, the big ol slate runs full Windows 10 programs and is more like a desktop experience than the app-filled iPad. Microsoft calls it Clipboard Mode, which is apt; its size and shape really do make it feel like a clipboard in your hands. In other words, its bulkier than your average iPad. For most casual users, Clipboard Mode will primarily be a nice-to-have feature for reading and watching movies on a plane.</p><p>Casual users probably aren’t ponying up this much for a laptop, though. And while Im certainly not the target audience for drawing on its touchscreen all that much, Microsoft nailed the feel of writing with the Surface Pen. It feels like a cross between the worlds smoothest ballpoint and jotting on a slick whiteboard. Just as importantly, stowing the Surface Pen is as simple as sticking it on the edge of the Surface Book’s display with its super-strong magnetic innards. For artists, its certainly worth at least a test sketch to see if it fits your needs.</p><p>There are tiny complaints with the new Surface Book here and there. The placement of the power button and the headphone jack will never feel quite right; to accommodate its standalone tablet mode, the Books power button is on the top of the display and the headphone jack is on the top right edge. Cords be danglin. Due to the unique hinge design, theres also a small loopy gap between the screen and the keyboard when the Book is closed. It didnt bother me at all, but it bears mentioning.</p><p>Just like <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/10/review-microsoft-surface-book/" target="_blank">the first version of the machine</a>, Surface Book with Performance Base is certainly a laptop first—a damn good laptop first, with a great keyboard, superb performance, and a sharp display that gains more than youd think from its aspect ratio. The new graphics-boosted configurations represent steps up in performance, with the same clever engineering elements that make them such unique portables. But theyre certainly pricey, and if you can do without the tablet mode—and if you truly want a tablet, not a slate PC, you probably can—you can find a similarly powerful machine for the same price or less.</p><p>It just wont be as cool.</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/11/review-microsoft-surface-book-performance-base/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.wired.com/2016/11/review-microsoft-surface-book-performance-base/</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-microsoft-surface-book-with-performance-base/">Review: Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-microsoft-surface-book-with-performance-base/">http://www.saferreviews.com/review-microsoft-surface-book-with-performance-base/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/153030626452">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/153030626452</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-65291187895050771682016-11-10T19:07:00.001-08:002016-11-10T19:07:10.014-08:00Amazon Blu R1 HD review: Just barely good enough to get byGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-55737044200172861372016-11-10T16:17:00.001-08:002016-11-10T16:17:03.186-08:00Eyewitness review a compelling and complex crime show remake<p>USAs new anthology series based on a Norwegian small-town crime drama is dragged out a bit longer than necessary but is a deceptively substantial take</p><p><img src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6d47ccbd04f297641d4a24c65c3ae2eb93fc09c5/0_63_1499_900/master/1499.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=630&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=crop&amp;bm=normal&amp;ba=bottom%2Cleft&amp;blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&amp;s=2b05cf6fe0f2c550f368a59613c75568" /></p><p>Theres a certain type of film-making the washed-out colors, the bleak autumn landscape, the small towns with big problems which are always about five minutes away from a downpour or maybe just five minutes after the end of one that suggest a TV drama set in the Pacific north-west.</p><p>To be even more specific, it usually indicates an American remake of a Scandinavian show. Remember <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-killing-us" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">The Killing</a>? Sadly, I do too.</p><p>Eyewitness, a new anthology series, has that look and is a remake of a popular Norwegian show. But its actually set in Tivoli, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/new-york" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">New York</a>, not far from Manhattan. The setting isnt the only thing thats different. It is a visually compelling and narratively complex (if a bit derivative) take on the small-town crime genre.</p><p>The big crime here is a drug-related multiple murder in a cabin on the heroin smuggling route from the city to points north. What should seem like an open and shut case of a drug deal gone wrong is complicated by a number of factors: one of the dead men was an FBI informant and the killer was somehow caught up with a nearby kingpins 17-year-old daughter.</p><p>But the biggest complication is that Lukas (James Paxton, son of Bill) and Philip (Tyler Young), two closeted high school students who stole away to the cabin for some intimate time together, witnessed the whole thing.</p><p>Lukas, the son of a local bigwig, refuses to let Philip talk about the crime not because he doesnt want to get involved but because he doesnt want to tell anyone what he and his friend were doing there.</p><p>To lend that level of coincidence that always infects a rural crime thriller, Philips new foster mother is the local sheriff. Helen (Julianne Nicholson) is a bit of a hard-ass, with observation and deduction skills that come in handy when trying to piece together a crime. Shes not so good at trying to make a skittish gay teenager trust her.</p><p>Helens investigation is thwarted by an FBI agent, Kamilah Davis (Tattiawna Jones) but aided by her wisecracking partner Tony (Matt Murray). That might be the big draw, but the story between the two teens is much more emotionally engaging.</p><p>In one of the better-observed stories about gay teens searching to make sense of their newfound sexual urges, the push and pull between Philip and Lukas is fascinating if painful to watch.</p><p>Lukas says at one point: I dont want to be that guy, my father doesnt want me to be that guy, no one wants me to be that guy. Though a bit trite, it perfectly encapsulates his feelings while showing he cant resist spending more time with Philip, not only as lovers but also as companions. The two almost seem to despise each other, even as they cant pull themselves away.</p><p>The other high point is Nicholsons performance. Though she has been on TV before, most notably in the quickly forgotten Red Road, it seems like an actress of her caliber should have landed a role this meaty before. She brings a great nuance to Helen, hard-edged but sympathetic.</p><p>Thankfully, her character is not the sort of very talented jerk that is usually at the center of a procedural. With her brittleness and dedication to her job, Helen is the type of character that would usually be played by a man. Her bland, well-meaning husband Gabe (Gil Bellows) is often left with little to do but care for the children.</p><p>While the investigation is dragged out a little bit longer than necessary over the 10 episodes, the ambient pleasures of watching Nicholson and her two young co-stars are enough to keep anyone plugging through the more boring stretches.</p><p>The show, adapted for American television by Adi Hasak (Shades of Blue) with the first two episodes directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), offers a deceptive substance lying below the surface. Eyewitness will not only fool viewers into thinking its set in the Pacific north-west, but also that it is more conventional than it truly is.</p><ul><li><em>Eyewitness premieres Sunday 16 October at 10pm ET, on USA.</em></li></ul><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/16/eyewitness-review-tv-show-usa-norway-remake-crime-drama" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/16/eyewitness-review-tv-show-usa-norway-remake-crime-drama</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/eyewitness-review-a-compelling-and-complex-crime-show-remake/">Eyewitness review a compelling and complex crime show remake</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/eyewitness-review-a-compelling-and-complex-crime-show-remake/">http://www.saferreviews.com/eyewitness-review-a-compelling-and-complex-crime-show-remake/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/153015099547">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/153015099547</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-21380382525681825542016-11-10T12:54:00.001-08:002016-11-10T12:54:51.610-08:00Review: Balmuda The ToasterGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-71745469926571063602016-11-10T09:31:00.001-08:002016-11-10T09:31:07.229-08:00Hamilton’s America review loving documentary entertains and frustratesGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-85945486196150210472016-11-10T03:27:00.001-08:002016-11-10T03:27:09.143-08:00Review: Lenovo Yoga Book<p>The Lenovo Yoga Book is a credit to its namesake, both in that it celebrates flexibility and leaves me feeling a little out of sorts.</p><div id="wired-tired" class="carve" col="" sm-col-18="" med-col-9="" big-col-9="" fader="" proxima="" gray-5="" relative="" data-share="" data-js="fader"><div id="wired-tired-text" class="pad-t-med"><h2 class="tungsten" no-marg="">Lenovo Yoga Book</h2><h3 class="tungsten" gray-5="" no-marg="">6/10</h3><div class="border-box" border-t="" hide-mob="" hide-sm="" hide-med=""><a class="byline" gray-5="" no-underline="" no-hover="" href="#" data-ui="howRateOpen">Learn How We Rate</a></div><h5 class="brandon" uppercase="" border-t="">Wired</h5><p class="gray-5">A truly beautiful little gadget. Incredibly adaptable. A better stylus and digitizer than you’d expect for the price. Makes a stab at the future.</p><h5 class="brandon" uppercase="" border-t="">Tired</h5><p class="gray-5">The Halo keyboard is barely usable. Being pretty good at a lot of things is no substitute for being great and something.</p><div class="border-box" border-t="" border-b="" gray-5=""><a class="byline" float-l="" no-underline="" no-hover="" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/" target="_blank">Buy It Now</a> <span class="byline" gray-5="">&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Lenovo</span></div></div><div id="how-rate" class="hide" hide-mob="" hide-sm="" hide-med="" bg-white="" absolute="" bottom="" left="" right="" data-js="howWeRate"><a data-ui="howRateClose" class="float-r" no-underline="" no-hover="" marg-t-med=""></a><br /><h4 class="tungsten" clamp-6="" pad-t-med="" pad-b-med="" clearfix="">How We Rate</h4><div class="border-box" border-t="" border-b="" pad-t-med="" pad-b-med=""><ul class="score-key" list-none="" no-marg=""><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">1/10</span>A complete failure in every way</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">2/10</span>Sad, really</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">3/10</span>Serious flaws; proceed with caution</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">4/10</span>Downsides outweigh upsides</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">5/10</span>Recommended with reservations</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">6/10</span>Solid with some issues</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">7/10</span>Very good, but not quite great</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">8/10</span>Excellent, with room to kvetch</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">9/10</span>Nearly flawless</li><li class="no-marg"><span class="tungsten" marg-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">10/10</span>Metaphysical perfection</li></ul></div></div></div><p>Its hard to describe what the Yoga Book exactly is, because it wants to be many things. Its a tablet, surely, with a crisp 10-inch display, remarkably solid speakers, and extra software heft onboard to enable superior streaming. But then! Fold it open, and on the half of the device where the keyboard usually resides is a digitizer, complete with a stylus. You can plop an included pad of paper atop that half to take physical notes, with real ink, that show up digitally as well.</p><p>And then! That same half of the Yoga Book doubles as a Halo keyboard, with flat, capacitive touch keys. Its like typing on buzzing glass. Did I mention it comes in both Android and Windows varieties? It does.</p><p>Thats a lot of device to stuff into a 1.5-pound gadget. Forget a 2-in-1; were looking at four or more uses in a single package. All at the completely sane prices of $500 for the Android version, or $550 for Windows 10. Its innovative, its gorgeous, and its incredibly adaptable. But its attempts to be everything make it hard to recommend to everyone.</p><p>Lets start with the good: The Yoga Book is gorgeous. Truly. Its one of the nicest-looking gadgets Ive spent time with, its magnesium-aluminum alloy shell all sleek and sturdy and lux. And while the watchband hinge that enables it to open 360 degrees isnt new for Lenovo, its worth applauding here again. The Yoga Book bends smoothly, and holds steady at any angle.</p><p>And as a pure tablet, the Yoga Book works pretty darn well. Or at least, as well as Android 6.0 will let it. Androids a terrific mobile operating system, but still doesnt quite work in a large format. Lenovos added some software tricks to help it feel more PC-like, but those also dont help much. Theres a feature that minimizes apps to fit more onto a screen, but go-to downloads like YouTube arent compatible. Theres also a decent amount of Lenovo bloatware packed in, some of which you can uninstall, some of which you cant.</p><p>Still, the Intel Atom processor inside seems up to most tasks, despite being a bit outdated. (I didnt test a Windows unit, but Im curious how well it holds up there). And because you can fold the Yoga book all the way around, holding it in tablet mode feels like holding a slightly thicker tablet than usual.</p><p>If you just wanted a tablet, though, you wouldnt be buying the Yoga Book. Youre here for the tablet-plus experience, which ranges from pretty good to gobsmackingly frustrating.</p><p>The digitizer experience works just fine. Press the pen button on the Halo keyboard or on the display and it turns into a drawing board, which Lenovo calls the Create Pad. Its responsive, adequately pressure-sensitive, and its compatibility with a magnetized pad of physical paper makes for a more comfortable note-taking experience than using the stylus alone. I cant shake the feeling, though, that this is also a case where more versatility also means more complications. Switching from the digital stylus head to the real-ink head can be frustrating, an once youve thrown the Yoga Book, stylus, and notepad in your bag, have you really saved much time and space at all?</p><p>For the organized, early adopting digital note-takers and mobile scribblers of the world, the answer may absolutely be yes. If you belong to that clan, youll get plenty out of the Yoga Book. If not, youll wish you just had a regular tablet. And in either case, you probably shouldnt expect to do much typing.</p><p>Until now Ive avoided talking about the Halo keyboard, but we have to discuss it at some point, since its such a large reason why the Yoga Book exists. Ditching physical keys is what allows for the Yoga Books thinness, and enables its claims on the future. Its a nice thought—though Lenovos not the first to try it—but in practice, its crazy-making.</p><p>Heres a small sample of my attempt to type this review on the Yoga Book itself:</p><blockquote><p>My first thought hda been to wriet my Yoga Book review using the Yoga Book. People do thta, right? iPhone rdviews written on iPhones, after alli got about there sentenecs in bfeore I gqve it up: thqts hoz long it took ,e to s,oehoz szitch ,y keyboqrd to french:</p><p>Insetad, i folded the Yoga Bookmaround and went back tmotewting it as atablte. That seemed more funl at lersat.</p></blockquote><p>Lenovo says the Halo keyboard will learn how you type and adjust in kind, and Im sure after a few weeks I would learn how to use it and it would learn how to use me and wed meet in a workable middle. But of all the learning curves we have to experience in this life, typing should be a one-time deal.</p><p>The overall experience is lacking, but here are a couple of specific gripes. The trackpad is very small and close enough to the space bar that youll inadvertently press the latter many times. The layout is scrunched, which is a byproduct of any tablet-sized keyboard, but one made especially frustrating without the placement reassurance of physical keys. I somehow switched the settings to French multiple times during my typing sessions. <em>Mon dieu!</em></p><p>I respect what Lenovos trying here. Its too rare that a company attempts to leapfrog into the future. For that alone, the Yoga Book deserves applause. In terms of actual usage, though, Im not sure that it manages to solve the problems it sets out to without creating an equal number in return.</p><p>Can it do more than a tablet alone? It can, but at the cost of not being the best possible tablet. Can it replace your computer? The Atom processor and funky keyboard mean no, not likely. Ultimately, its like winding up with a platypus when all you really wanted was a beaver or a duck. The exception is if you enjoy digital sketching and note-taking enough that you want the option handy at all times, but not so much that youd spring for a dedicated accessory. Thats a narrow frame of appeal to contort into, but hey. Thats what Yoga is for.</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/10/review-lenovo-yoga-book/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.wired.com/2016/10/review-lenovo-yoga-book/</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-lenovo-yoga-book/">Review: Lenovo Yoga Book</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-lenovo-yoga-book/">http://www.saferreviews.com/review-lenovo-yoga-book/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152991378432">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152991378432</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-16576126706004892582016-11-10T00:07:00.001-08:002016-11-10T00:07:35.785-08:00Spiritualized review celestial narco-balladry hits exquisite heightsGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-63744146627361050682016-11-09T19:32:00.001-08:002016-11-09T19:32:06.425-08:00Review: Google Pixel<p>I write about gadgets, which means everyone asks me what laptop or dishwasher or whatever to buy. I struggle with this, because the answer often starts with,“It depends.” Unless youaskabout a phone. In that case, I usuallysay get an iPhone.</p><p>Don’t get me wrong. I love Android. But the phones can be… frustrating. Clever features too often seem overwrought or poorly designed, or they’re buried beneath 15 Verizon apps on the homescreen. The iPhone is the Default Phone, the one you buy when you want a phone, not a project.</p><p>The Google Pixel changes that. It offers the look and competence of an iPhone, with a truly great camera and loads of innovative software and services. It changes my answerto the question I hear most often: What phone should you get?</p><p>You should get a Pixel.</p><div class="video-wrapper" marg-t-50="" marg-b-50=""><iframe class="iframe-video" data-js="video-iframe" src="/video/meet-google-s-answer-to-the-iphone-the-pixel/iframe?videoId=57f41f3efd2e61365c000023&amp;playerId=571699d6ff2afb5e29000008&amp;autoplay=false&amp;muted=0" frame="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><h3>Talk To Me</h3><p>Google’s new phone arrivesThursday, starting at $650 for the Pixel and $770 for the Pixel XL. You can get itin blue, black, or silver, with 32 or 128 gigs of storage, from Google or from Verizon. You should buy it directly from Google, and soon. Most models already are backordered.</p><p>Not long after I got my Pixel XL, I flewto Colombia for a week’s vacation. It was a very Google-y getaway: I had a Project Fi SIM card, I kept my itinerary in Google Trips, and, given what Verizon charges for international data on my iPhone 7, I relied entirely upon thePixel because Project Fi gives standard rates in most countries.</p><div id="wired-tired" class="special-carve" col="" sm-col-18="" med-col-9="" big-col-9="" fader="" proxima="" gray-5="" relative="" data-share="" data-js="fader"><div id="wired-tired-logo"><span class="byline" absolute="">recommends 2016</span></div><div id="wired-tired-text" class="pad-t-med"><h2 class="tungsten" no-marg="">Google Pixel</h2><h3 class="tungsten" gray-5="" no-marg="">9/10</h3><div class="border-box" border-t="" hide-mob="" hide-sm="" hide-med=""><a class="byline" gray-5="" no-underline="" no-hover="" href="#" data-ui="howRateOpen">Learn How We Rate</a></div><h5 class="brandon" uppercase="" border-t="">Wired</h5><p class="gray-5">Google Assistant is the first voice assistant that really works. You can’t take a bad picture with the Pixel. So what if it looks like the iPhone? The iPhone looks great, and so does the Pixel.</p><h5 class="brandon" uppercase="" border-t="">Tired</h5><p class="gray-5">Every phone should be waterproof, and this one isn’t. Good as it is, Assistant’s hardly flawless.</p><div class="border-box" border-t="" border-b="" gray-5=""><a class="byline" float-l="" no-underline="" no-hover="" rel="nofollow" href="http://google.com/pixel" target="_blank">Buy It Now</a> <span class="byline" gray-5="">&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Google</span></div></div><div id="how-rate" class="hide" hide-mob="" hide-sm="" hide-med="" bg-white="" absolute="" bottom="" left="" right="" data-js="howWeRate"><a data-ui="howRateClose" class="float-r" no-underline="" no-hover="" marg-t-med=""></a><br /><h4 class="tungsten" clamp-6="" pad-t-med="" pad-b-med="" clearfix="">How We Rate</h4><div class="border-box" border-t="" border-b="" pad-t-med="" pad-b-med=""></div><p>I’ve always loved Android because it felt so much more alive and connected than iOS. The sharing menus are smarter and more prominent, apps refresh in the background so they’re always up to date, and widgets and notifications are useful and interactive. But iOS was always so much simpler, with shallower learning curves. It’s dictatorial, but painless. The Pixel’s software doesn’t totally close that gap. It’s still too easy to clutter your homescreens with multiple versions of the same icon, and it’s still too hard to find cool features like the thing where you can swipe down on the fingerprint reader to see your notification shade. But the Pixel is the mostcoherent and cohesive Android ever.</p><p>I’ve always been an iPhone guy, honestly. I’ve used just about every flagship Android phone ever made and always returned to Apple. That’s partly because I bought an iPhone 4S in 2011 and signed up for iMessage, and leaving iMessage is a monumental pain in the ass.But mostly I liked having a phone I didn’t have to think about. The iPhone always offers great hardware, a good camera, fantastic apps, and data security. I don’t want to worry about my phone, or spend my time tinkering with it. My phone’s too important to risk any extra effort, or worse, unreliability.</p><p>But I’m switching. For real. I’m turning off iMessage, re-buying apps, and warning friends that I probably won’t get their texts for a few days. I am a little worried about Google’s long-term commitment to this new hardware push (and the customer support that comes with it), given itspropensity for killing productsthatdon’t get billions of users. But I’m totally in love with the Pixel. I love this camera, I love Google Assistant, I love that I’ll get to use it with a comfy VR headset, I love that I finally get a version of Android that is both powerful and attractive. I love that there’s a kickass Android phone that (probably) doesn’t explode.</p><p>The immediate joke everyone, including me, made on Twitter after the Pixel launch was that Google made an iPhone. Well, that’s true. As it turns out, an iPhone running Android is exactly what I’ve been waiting for.</p></div></div><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/10/review-google-pixel/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.wired.com/2016/10/review-google-pixel/</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-google-pixel/">Review: Google Pixel</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-google-pixel/">http://www.saferreviews.com/review-google-pixel/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152979578032">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152979578032</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-39387047832069962672016-11-09T16:27:00.001-08:002016-11-09T16:27:15.996-08:00Michael Moore in TrumpLand review part dingus, part holy roller aiming to help ClintonGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-35597297375006414372016-11-09T13:07:00.001-08:002016-11-09T13:07:30.909-08:00Robert Plant Lampedusa tour review tenderly rocking for refugees<p>The former Led Zeppelin frontman warned that there would be no Hobbit songs instead he rolled out an empathetic set of Americana with guests including Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Joan Baez</p><p><img src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2d61a7892d38fb800027d7f3dd9e832caf973625/0_183_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=630&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=crop&amp;bm=normal&amp;ba=bottom%2Cleft&amp;blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&amp;s=6fa6aba686539940221d7f11f0dadaf4" /></p><p><span class="drop-cap"><span class="drop-cap__inner">I</span></span> keep good company now, said Robert Plant as he stood onstage at New Yorks Town Hall flanked by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and <a href="http://buddymiller.com/" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Buddy Miller</a>.</p><p>Plants companions represent some of the most valuable players in the world of Americana, a realm the British star has eagerly adopted ever since his acclaimed collaboration with Alison Krauss on <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-2000s-20110718/robert-plant-and-alison-krauss-raising-sand-20110713" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Raising Sand</a> nearly a decade ago.</p><p>Its not just their company and music Plant has avidly pursued. Now, he has taken up one of their causes. The multi-star concert he participated in Tuesday night arrived as part of the 11-date <a href="http://jrsusa.org/campaigns_focus?TN=PROMO-20160707043431&amp;gclid=CjwKEAjws5zABRDqkoOniLqfywESJACjdoiGvazoT_RiTuomkqzkahl0IBcjmLs7HHLGuL0Uv-2cABoC2Cfw_wcB" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Lampedusa tour</a>, organized by Harris to address an increasingly alarming situation: the shows aim to raise awareness of the worldwide refugee crisis, amplified by wars raging across the Middle East and northern Africa. All proceeds from the event go to <a draggable="true" href="http://www.jrsusa.org/campaigns_focus?TN=PROMO-20130815114542" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Jesuit Refugee Services Global Educational Initiative</a>.</p><p>Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean sea, has been a prime entry point for refugees in Europe since 2000. It has also been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/22/lampedusa-boat-tragedy-migrants-africa" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">a place of considerable peril</a>. Last year, nearly 1,600 migrants died en route there from Libya.</p><p>While issues so dire gave the show its urgency, the mood of the night often stressed joy through cooperation. The setup helped. Rather than honoring a strict hierarchy of stars, the main artists remained onstage throughout the night, sitting in a semicircle on chairs, taking turns performing songs round-robin style. Along with the stately names at the top of the bill, the show included equal contributions from the gifted young duo <a href="http://themilkcartonkids.com/" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">the Milk Carton Kids</a>, a cameo for the musical comedy of Will and Grace actress <a href="http://www.meganmullally.net/" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Megan Mullally</a>, as well as a special appearance at the end by the grande dame of politicized song, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/31/joan-baez-singer-activist-peacenik-lover-legend-royal-festival-hall" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Joan Baez</a>.</p><p>Toward the start and finish of the two-and-a-half hour event, songs of displacement, alienation and wandering peppered the set. Miller emphatically delivered Shelter Me, whose narrator draws on faith to guide him to safety. The Milk Carton Kids offered Hope of a Lifetime, whose lyrics chart an equally treacherous journey. Earle contributed <a draggable="true" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvaEJzoaYZk" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Copperhead Road</a>, featuring characters who try to get by on the underground economy.</p><p>Deep into the night, the theme grew more pointed. Earle sang City of Immigrants, while the Kids rendered The City of Our Lady, whose chorus declares: Everywhere we go / Were the child of where we came. Baez delivered Woody Guthries classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrRak5-tCr8" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Deportee</a>, about the consequences of objectifying refugees.</p><p>In the central part of the show, the subject turned to thwarted love. Harris offered Making Believe, a song she first recorded 40 years ago, whose narrator can only imagine romance. Plant went back farther to cover a sad ballad sung by Elvis Presley called Done. Here, as well as in his renditions of Little Maggie and Nothing, the Led Zeppelin yowler drew on his quietest voice, finding in its high, open tones nearly as much power as his classic shouts. In a snarky aside about his old band, Plant said he would not be performing Hobbit songs.</p><p>Throughout the night, Harris lent harmonies to other singers on the most tender points of their songs, Miller injected energy through his electric solos, while Kenneth Pattengale of the Milk Carton Kids ran rings around the tunes with his speedy and dexterous acoustic solos.</p><p>The Kids brought to the night youth, humor and the dynamism of a duo in ideal sync. Their tandem vocals inescapably recall the most delicate interplay of Simon and Garfunkel, while their banter has the dry wit of the <a href="http://www.smothersbrothers.com/" data-link-name="in" body="" link="" class="u-underline">Smothers Brothers</a>. Their songs added prettiness to proceedings which more often emphasized the flinty and raw. Nearly the entire set list drew from Americas greatest musical resources: blues, folk and country music. The result carried a potent subtext: it presented an empathic and inclusive view of America, in contrast to the fearful and exclusive one exploited by Donald Trumps campaign. Baez referred to the show as a pocket of sanity in the current world. To her point, when a Earle song introduced the line we are all immigrants, the audience, as one, sang along.</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/19/robert-plant-lampedusa-tour-review-refugees-benefit" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/19/robert-plant-lampedusa-tour-review-refugees-benefit</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/robert-plant-lampedusa-tour-review-tenderly-rocking-for-refugees/">Robert Plant Lampedusa tour review tenderly rocking for refugees</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/robert-plant-lampedusa-tour-review-tenderly-rocking-for-refugees/">http://www.saferreviews.com/robert-plant-lampedusa-tour-review-tenderly-rocking-for-refugees/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152964754002">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152964754002</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-56618631828072883702016-11-09T10:05:00.001-08:002016-11-09T10:05:49.710-08:00The Letters of Samuel Beckett 1966-1989 review a long farewellingGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-26234646217105073502016-11-09T07:07:00.001-08:002016-11-09T07:07:12.248-08:00Chance review Hugh Laurie breaks bad but the results aren’t goodGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-25416393053861675932016-11-09T03:43:00.001-08:002016-11-09T03:43:23.221-08:00The Radical Eye review Elton John’s ravishing photography collectionGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-4128685428545021332016-11-09T03:28:00.001-08:002016-11-09T03:28:06.471-08:00Jack Reacher: Never Go Back review pecs, punchups and popcorn galoreGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-38255242166468013602016-11-09T00:19:00.003-08:002016-11-09T00:19:29.823-08:00Review: Yeti Hopper Flip 12George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-65798290047260663232016-11-09T00:19:00.001-08:002016-11-09T00:19:29.069-08:00Review: Beats Solo3 Wireless<p>Apple’s recent announcement that it was releasing some <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/09/review-apple-airpods/">goofy-looking wireless earbuds</a> for $159 netted plenty of attention, but the geek vitriol overshadowed a key point—that Apple had developed a new wireless chip called the W1. The signaling around the W1 made it clear that this was going to change everything about wireless audio for the better, so much so that you would soon wish you never even heard of a headphone jack in the first place, philistine.</p><p>AirPods will contain the W1, but beating them to market is the <a href="http://www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/browse-headphones/wireless-headphones/MNEN2.html">Beats Solo3</a>, a set of headphones powered by the same technology. Solo3 is of course an update to the best-selling Solo2, the more compact and wireless version of the classic Beats headphones. This on-ear model has a near-identical appearance to the prior version (the Solo3 is 10 grams heavier but is otherwise a total lookalike) and even includes the same acoustic technology as its predecessor, including noise isolation and Beats’ iconic, big bass driver.</p><h3>WIRED</h3><p>The biggest news here surrounds the W1, which makes all other Bluetooth headphones suddenly look like a tin can and string. Designed to make pairing seamless, one button press auto-pairs the headphones not just with your iPhone but with any other iOS device you have linked up to iCloud. Controls in iOS 10 let you switch between sources with just a few taps. But the even bigger draw might be the insane range that the W1 makes possible. While a typical Bluetooth connection craps out at about 25 to 30 feet (at least in my house), the Solo3 delivered perfect sound a whopping 120 feet away from my phone. From there it stuttered, finally dying completely at 135 feet away.</p><p>Also under the hood is an upgraded battery, which is totally worth the extra 10 grams. Apple’s spec pegs the Solo3 at 40 hours (my testing found that to be understated), a vast improvement over the 12-hour life of the Solo2. In typically moderate use, you will probably be able to use these headphones for weeks without having to charge them—and when you do, the new Fast Fuel feature will give you 3 hours of run time with just 5 minutes of USB-powered juicing (works as advertised). The integrated microphone isn’t outstanding, but it’s good enough at least for a quickie phone call.</p><h3>TIRED</h3><p>Despite all the upgrades, $300 is still an awful lot to pay for headphones, even if they are as much status symbol as audio device. (You can even get them finished in rose gold to match your fancy new phone.) Some may find the fit to be exceptionally snug, even after adjusting, and that bass can often be a bit much, particularly on songs that already have too much boom boom boom already. But when it comes to sound, the world has already divided itself into pro-Beats and anti-Beats camps. Presumably at this point, you already know who you are.</p><h3>RATING</h3><p><span class="tungsten" mart-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">9/10</span> – Nearly flawless. Buy it now.</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/10/review-beats-solo3-wireless/">http://www.wired.com/</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-beats-solo3-wireless/">Review: Beats Solo3 Wireless</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-beats-solo3-wireless/">http://www.saferreviews.com/review-beats-solo3-wireless/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152940192997">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152940192997</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-14741431286114478012016-11-08T18:13:00.001-08:002016-11-08T18:13:35.705-08:00Moana review Disney’s Polynesian princess movie can’t help itselfGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-28810941650973959852016-11-08T15:13:00.001-08:002016-11-08T15:13:31.578-08:00Review: Pulse Camera Remote<p>Undoubtedly, you’ve seen some incredibly beautiful long-exposure photos of the night sky, or time-lapse movies of the Milky Way marching steadily across the frame. To reproduce shots like those, you could employ cheap, finicky intervalometers or you could go the smart and easy route and play with a remote camera trigger that’s programmed by your phone to control the shutter. Those app-controlled remotes have been around a few years, and they vary in quality. But few are as slick as the <a href="https://alpinelaboratories.com/pages/pulse">Pulse Camera Remote</a> from Alpine Labs.</p><p>The $99 remote mounts onto the hot-shoe of your camera and plugs into the USB port on the camera body. Pulse then pairs to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth to give the user nearly full control of the camera’s settings. The Bluetooth connection lets you control it from as far as 100 feet away, and while it can’t spin your camera’s manual control dials for you, the Pulse can adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, and trigger the shots. It’s also very light, and if something else is in the hot shoe, Pulse can just dangle from its USB cable.</p><p>There are more than 60 cameras (mostly Canon and Nikon, but also the Panasonic GH4) on Alpine Labs’ list of tested cameras. Sony cameras are absent—the company has some tethering restrictions that render the Pulse useless. And while there are many consumer-grade cameras that allow for some degree of control via built-in Wi-Fi, many professional grade cameras do not have Wi-Fi. For instance, Canon’s 5DmkVI is the first in the massively popular 5D series to include Wi-Fi. So if you’ve got something like an older Canon 5D, the Pulse can be a valuable photo assistant.</p><h3>WIRED</h3><p>The unit pairs with your phone easily, and the app’s interface is intuitive. Shooting styles include photo (simple remote trigger), video, time lapse, long exposure, and HDR. It can also act as a photo booth, snapping up to 10 photos in a row with 5 to 60 seconds between each shot—however much time your subjects need to change the positions of their feather boas. For time-lapse sequences, Pulse can ramp the ISO and shutter speed for varying exposures. This is helpful for capturing a time-lapse shot of a sunrise or sunset where the changing brightness requires different exposure settings. The App will even control up to three different Pulse units for multi-angle shots for broader coverage.</p><p>Pulse is a set-it-and-forget-it device. Once you’ve dialed in the sequence or other instructions via the app, Pulse no longer needs the smartphone around to keep track of what it’s doing. For long time lapse shoots, I was able to re-connect the app to the device and it would tell me what percentage of the sequence was complete. A calculator shows how long the final time lapse sequence will be according to how many frames have been programmed to be shot during the sequence.</p><h3>TIRED</h3><p>There’s an on-off switch on the unit, and there were a few occasions when I picked it up and realized I had forgotten to turn it off. The battery had drained in my camera bag, and it was dead. This makes me wish it would just pull power through the USB connection from the camera (if that’s even an option) to avoid having to keep it charged up. One other quibble: there’s no live preview option since it uses low-energy Bluetooth, which has data limitations. You only get an image thumbnail of the most recent shot.</p><h3>RATING</h3><p><span class="tungsten" mart-r-micro="" inline-block="" v-align-b="" score="">8/10</span> – Excellent, with room to kvetch.</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/11/review-pulse-trigger/">http://www.wired.com/</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-pulse-camera-remote/">Review: Pulse Camera Remote</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/review-pulse-camera-remote/">http://www.saferreviews.com/review-pulse-camera-remote/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152916425287">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152916425287</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-6173325529867332842016-11-08T08:50:00.001-08:002016-11-08T08:50:38.608-08:00Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare review fun, fast, but a wasted opportunityGeorge Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941530106763945040.post-22989350284752883272016-11-07T00:38:00.001-08:002016-11-07T00:38:02.004-08:00FBI worked ‘around the clock’ to review emails in Clinton server probe<p><img src="http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/161031151042-clinton-comey-composite-1031-super-tease.jpg" /></p><p class="zn-body__paragraph"><cite class="el-editorial-source">Washington (CNN)</cite>In the days since the FBI dropped a bombshell into the presidential race with the discovery of new emails relevant to the Hillary Clinton server investigation, bureau investigators worked “around the clock” to review the large volume of emails, two law enforcement officials told CNN.</p><div class="l-container"><div class="ad" ad--epic="" data-ad-text="show"><div id="ad_ns_btf_01" class="ad-ad_ns_btf_01" ad-refresh-default=""></div></div></div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Key to the effort was software that was refined from its previous uses for the review of emails found on a device belonging to Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman and estranged husband of Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin.</div><div class="ad" ad--epic="" ad--mobile="" data-ad-text="show"><div id="ad_rect_atf_02" class="ad-ad_rect_atf_02" ad-refresh-default=""></div></div><ul class="cn" cn-list-hierarchical-xs="" cn--idx-4="" cn-zoneadcontainer=""></ul><div class="zn-body__paragraph">“A lot of this was a matter of technology,” one official said. “Without the technology, this would have taken a lot longer.”</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">The news that the FBI was confident in its July conclusion that there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges related to the server came in a letter from Comey to Congress on Sunday. That was the same way that Comey had initially thrown the presidential race into flux late last month, when he sent a letter to Congress saying newly discovered emails on Weiner’s device, which came up in a separate investigation, were being looked at in relation to the Clinton investigation.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Now, the probe is considered over with regard to Clinton.</div><div class="zn-body__read-more"><div class="read-more-gradient"></div><div class="read-more-button"></div></div><div class="zn-body__read-all"><div class="zn-body__paragraph"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/06/politics/comey-tells-congress-fbi-has-not-changed-conclusions/index.html">FBI clears Clinton, again</a></div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">But with not all the emails deleted by her attorneys for being personal in nature recovered and not all the devices used to transmit the emails in the FBI’s possession, it is possible something else could turn up that would require more review.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">There were some classified emails found in the Abedin review, but the officials stressed the issue is not the classified information so much as proving intent. The sources would not specify how many of the classified emails were new or duplicates of ones already reviewed. Nor would officials say how many there were and what levels of classification they were at.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Another source told CNN that none of the newly recovered emails were referred to other intelligence agencies to conduct a classification review. That suggests that none of them were considered a “close call” in terms of classification, the source said.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">“Keep in mind we are focused on intent,” one official said. “We know there are classified materials, but that doesn’t change the conclusion reached back in July.”</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">The FBI team that conducted the email probe was reconstituted to handle the review of the new emails, which included some they hadn’t previously seen in the yearlong probe of the server.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">As for others who were part of the probe, including Abedin, the FBI is still working on some remaining aspects of the review, including determining how the emails ended up on the laptop in the first place. Abedin’s attorneys have said she doesn’t know why these emails were there because this wasn’t a computer she used.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">The expectation remains that investigators will have to talk to Abedin again.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">It is not uncommon to come across new evidence after concluding a probe — which is what happened in October. Normally, investigators take a look to see if anything changes in their conclusions and it’s not a controversial issue. This case isn’t a normal case, given the election and the stakes.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Comey sent Sunday’s letter to Congress as soon as possible, a senior law enforcement official said. The bureau chief was “very careful” about how the letter was crafted given the sensitivities.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Attorney General Loretta Lynch was informed ahead of time that the FBI director was sending the updated letter to Congress, a Justice official told CNN on Sunday.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates disagreed with Comey’s earlier decision to notify Congress last month. The attorney general backed Comey’s move Sunday.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">“Everyone is on the same page,” the senior law enforcement official said.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">Since there is no change to the original findings, the Justice Department has no need to weigh in further, the official added.</div><div class="zn-body__paragraph">“The Department of Justice and the FBI dedicated all necessary resources to conduct this review expeditiously,” the Justice Department said in a brief statement released Sunday afternoon.</div></div><p>Read more: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/06/politics/fbi-review-hillary-clinton-emails-comey/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/06/politics/fbi-review-hillary-clinton-emails-comey/index.html</a></p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com/fbi-worked-around-the-clock-to-review-emails-in-clinton-server-probe/">FBI worked ‘around the clock’ to review emails in Clinton server probe</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.saferreviews.com">Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews.</a>.</p><br />from Safer Reviews, Unbiased &amp; Independent Reviews. <a href="http://www.saferreviews.com/fbi-worked-around-the-clock-to-review-emails-in-clinton-server-probe/">http://www.saferreviews.com/fbi-worked-around-the-clock-to-review-emails-in-clinton-server-probe/</a><br /><br />source <a href="http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152849364877">http://saferreviews.tumblr.com/post/152849364877</a>George Scotthttps://plus.google.com/107993318877050160360noreply@blogger.com0